The purpose of this project is to explore whether supportive features of the social context can promote the development of competence of mothers and infants. An ecological experiment will be conducted to study how two aspects of the social context affect 40 low-income mothers and their infants: extended contact in the hospital and participation in a supportive education group. These two contexts are varied to explore the hypothesis that prevention of long-term developmental problems in low-income mothers and infants requires both an emotional-motivational bond between mother and infant and ongoing social support. The major objectives are: (1) to differentiate the short- and long-term consequences of extended contact for mothers and babies; (2) to evaluate the influence of educational support groups on maternal and infant competence; and (3) to explore the interaction of extended contact and educational support groups with each other and with the informal support networks of mothers and infants with varying resources. This ecological experiment can explore the impact of extended contact and supportive mothers' groups on the development of mothers and their infants and refine procedures and hypotheses for further investigation.